5 potential winners at UFC 264 who can move on to bigger and better things

#2 Stephen Thompson vs. Gilbert Burns - UFC welterweight

The UFC's welterweight division is currently in a strange place. Colby Covington looks set to face the 170lb champion Kamaru Usman, despite the fact that he already lost to 'The Nigerian Nightmare' and has only picked up a win against Tyron Woodley since, who is no longer even a part of the UFC.

Leon Edwards arguably deserves a shot at the title, as will the winner of UFC 264's co-main event between Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson and Gilbert 'Durinho' Burns.

Burns is coming off a loss to champion Kamaru Usman and is looking to bounce back in a big way. He has previously shown off his impressive skillset against the likes of Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and Gunnar Nelson.

However, whilst this is an important fight for Burns, he is still only 34 and certainly has several years left in his MMA career. Thompson is 38 and this will unquestionably be his last shot at a title. He has previously fought for the title, picking up a split decision draw to Tyron Woodley and subsequently losing the rematch.

After initially going 1-2 following the title loss, Thompson has managed to put together back-to-back wins against Geoff Neal and Vincente Luque. A win against Burns may just be enough to give Thompson one last shot at claiming welterweight gold before age catches up with him.

#1 Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor - UFC lightweight

What other fight could come in at number one than the trilogy bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier? This is a huge fight for both men, with the winner going on to fight for the title and the loser sinking into the shark infested waters of the lightweight division.

Both men currently hold a victory over the other, although McGregor's was in 2014 whilst Poirier's was only six months ago. Poirier was offered the chance to fight for the vacant title but declined in favor of pursuing a money fight with McGregor. The vacant belt was instead claimed by Charles Olivera, who knocked out Michael Chandler at UFC 262.

Dana White has essentially guaranteed the winner of this fight will be Olivera's first title defense. Thus it is integral to both men's legacies that they win this fight. The beauty of it is that there can only be one winner. Considering the depth of the 155lb division, should either man lose this fight, it will be an incredibly tough route back to the title.